Clamps



C. E. COOK Dec. 7, 1965 CLAMPS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 15, 1963INVENTOR. GEDRIG E CooK PROR ART 214.2 Pig. 6.

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iw mw 4N A R. wW Cw United States Patent 3,222,055 CLANIPS Cedric E.Cook, Rte. 3, Box 163, Cortland, Ohio Filed Nov. 15, 1963, Ser. No.324,011 4 Claims. (Cl. 269-219) My invention relates to clamps, moreparticularly to parallel clamps, and the principal object of myinvention is to provide new and improved clamps of such character.

In the drawings accompanying this specification and forming a part ofthis application, there are shown several embodiments which my inventionmay assume, and in these drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of of a prior art parallel clamp toprovide comparison with my invention,

FIGURE 2 is a side elevational view of an embodiment of my invention,

FIGURES 3 and 4 are views similar to FIGURE 2 but showing parts indifferent positions,

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view of one of the jaws forming part of theembodiment illustrated in FIGURES 2 through 4.

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of a detail,

FIGURES 7 and 8 are schematic views of different embodiments of myinvention,

FIGURE 9 is a perspective view of a still different embodiment of myinvention,

FIGURE 10 is a longitudinal sectional view taken through the embodimentillustrated in FIGURE 9, and

FIGURE 11 is a fragmentary sectional view illustrating a furtheradaptation of the embodiment disclosed in FIG- URES 9 and 10.

A parallel clamp of the prior art, as shown in FIGURE 1, comprises apair of jaws 15, 16 and a pair of hand screws 17, 18 connected betweenthe jaws and providing for parallel adjustment of the same toward andaway from each other. The jaw is usually called the fixed jaw and thejaw 16 is usually called the loose jaw.

The jaws 15, 16 are usually formed as solid pieces of metal and of aconfiguration as shown. The fixed jaw 15 has a pair of screw-threadedopenings 19, 20 through which the screws are respectively threaded. Eachscrew has a head 21 which may be knurled for hand gripping purposes, andeach head may have an opening 22 through which a rod may be passed toincrease turning leverage.

The end of the screw 17 has a reduced extremity 23 which seats in arecess 24 formed in the jaw 16. The jaw 16 also has an opening 25extending therethrough and of a diameter to freely pass the screw 18.Usually the screw 18 has an annular groove 26 formed adjacent to itshead 21 and a fiat clip 27 is connected to the jaw 16 and seats in thegroove 26 to prevent sliding of the loose jaw 16 on the screw 18. Thescrews 17, 18 may be rotated to adjust the jaws toward each other toclamp a work piece W therebetween.

The parallel clamp of the prior art has serious limitations which willappear from a comparison of the prior art with my improved clamp whichwill now be described.

Referring to FIGURES 2 through 6, the embodiment of my invention thereindisclosed comprises a pair of jaws 30, 31, each preferably formed ofmetal and each having stepped portions designated 30a, 30b for the jaw39, and 31a, 31b for the jaw 31. A pair of hand screws 32, 33 areconnected between the jaws 30, 31 to hold the latter in overlyingrelation and providing for parallel adjustment of the jaws toward andaway from each other.

The portions 30a, 31a of the jaws may be termed the the clampingportions, and the jaw portions 30b and 31b may be termed the screwreceiving portions. The clamp- 3,222,355 Patented Dec. 7, 1955 ingportion 30a has opposite clamping surfaces 3tla.1 and 30a.2, while theclamping portion 31a has opposite clamping surfaces 31:11 and 31a.2. Inthe embodiment of FIGURES 2. through 6, the clamping surfaces areparallel to each other. The screw receiving portion 30b of-the jaw 30has opposite sides 3012.1 and 30b2, while the screw receiving portion31b has opposite sides 31b.1 and 3112.2.

The jaw 30 may be termed the fixed jaw and has a pair of threadedopenings 35, 36 extending completely through the screw receiving portion30b, each opening having threaded engagement with a respective handscrew 32, 33. The jaw 31 may be termed the loose jaw and has an opening37 extending completely through the screw receiving portion 31b and inalignment with the threaded opening 35. The opening 37 has a diameterlarger than the screw 32 to freely pass the same.

The screw receiving portion 31b has a pair of recesses 38, 39 enteringfrom opposite sides thereof, the recesses being aligned with each otherand with the threaded opening 36. An end of the screw 33 is reduced indiameter, as shown at 40, to freely fit in the recess 38 with itsextremity bearing against the bottom of the recess 38. In some instancesthe recesses 38, 39 may be connected as a straight through bore, inwhich case the shoulder formed by the reduced end 40 bears against theadjoining surface of the portion 31b.

Each of the screws 32, 33 is formed with a knurled head 41, and eachhead may be formed with an opening 42 to receive a leverage rod. Thescrew 32 is formed within an annular recess 43 (see FIGURE 6). A crossbore 44 contains a ball 45 and a spring 46 which is interposed betweenthe ball and a plug 47 threaded into the outer end of the bore 44. Itwill be clear that the ball 45 is spring-pressed to seat in the annulargroove 43 to permit rotation of the screw 32 but to releasably hold thejaw 31 against movement axially of the screw.

In the position of parts shown in FIGURE 2, the clamp has a relativelylarge clamp opening, thus enabling it to fit work Wa which is ofconsiderably greater span than the work W held by the conventional clampof the prior art.

In the event an offset clamping of the work is desired, the arrangementof parts shown in FIGURE 3 may be effected in short order. To effect thechange, the screw 32 is backed out of the jaw 30 and the screw 33completely removed therefrom. The jaw 30 is then inverted to present theclamping surface 30a.2 in confronting relation to the clamping surface31a.1 of the jaw 31 The screw 33 is then threaded into screw receivingportion 30b from the side 30b]. of the jaw 30 and its point 40 willagain seat in the recess 38 of the jaw 31, since the latter has not beenchanged in position. The screw 32 is threaded into the opening 35 fromthe side 3011.2, and the assembly is thus completely effected and readyfor adjustment to the size of the work to be clamped.

In some instances, a snout-nosed clamp may be desired and my improvedclamp may be easily arranged to the position of parts shown in FIGURE 4.To effect the change from the position of parts shown in FIGURE 3, thescrew 32 is entirely withdrawn from both jaws 39 and 31. The jaw 31 islowered to remove the screw point 40 from the recess 38 and the jaw 31is inverted to present the clamping surface 31a.2 in confrontingrelation to the clamping surface 30a.2 of the jaw 33. The screw 32 ispushed through the opening 37 of the jaw 31 from the side 31b.1 and thescrew is threaded into the jaw 30. The screw point 40 is then enteredinto the recess 39 and the assembly is thus completed, ready foradjustment.

The clamping jaws may be inverted for purposes other than offsetrelation. For example, in FIGURE 7, the jaws 30c, 31c have insets 50which may be made of a soft or 3 resilient material, such as wood orrubber, to clamp work which is subject to objectionable marring. InFIGURE 8, the jaws 30d, 31d are formed with straight clamping surfaces51 and curved clamping surfaces 52.

The embodiment of my invention disclosed in FIGURES 9 through 11 hasjaws 55, 56 formed as sheet-metal stampings. The jaw 55 is formed with apair of offset clamping portions 57, S and the jaw 56 is likewise formedwith offset clamping portions 59, 60. The jaw 55 is formed with threethreaded openings 61, 62 and 63, which may be formed by a piercing tool,the piercing operation displacing the metal into tubular shapesurrounding the opening to provide additional thread length.

The jaw 56 is also formed with three openings 64, 65 and 66 but theseopenings are unthreaded. As herein disclosed, the openings 64, 66 areformed by a piercing operation while the opening 65 may be punched and ametal block 67 may be welded in place to house the ball detent 68, thespring 69 and screw-plug 70.

In FIGURE 9, hand screws 71 and 72 are threaded through respectiveopenings 61, 62, the screw 71 having a head 73 and a point 74, thelatter fitting into the opening 64. The screw 72 is provided with a head75 and an annular groove 76, the latter cooperating with the ball detent68. Thus, in FIGURE 9, the jaw portions 58, 60 are adapted to clamp worktherebetween. However, the screw 71' may be removed from its positionshown in FIGURES 9 and and this screw may be threaded through theopening 63 with the screw point 74 fitting in the opening 66, in whichcase the portions 57, 59 are adapted to clamp work therebetween.

With the screw 71 threaded in the opening 63, its point 74 may receive apad 77 and thus adapt the clamp for C-clarnp operations, as shown indot-dash lines, wherein a channel 78 and bar 79 are clamped between thepad 77 and the portion 60. Of course, the screw 71 may be backed offfrom its position shown in full lines in FIG- URE 10 and the padinserted over its point, so that a channel or the like may be clampedbetween the pad and the portion 59.

In addition, a plug 80 (see FIGURE 11) may be provided, the plug havinga reduced end 81 forming a point which may seat in the opening 66 sothat additional clearance is provided to clear a lower flange 82. Tofurther add to the flexibility of the clamp of FIGURES 9 through 11, thejaws 55, 56 may be inverted in the manner described in connection withthe embodiment of FIGURES 2 through 6.

In view of the foregoing it will be apparent to those skilled in the artthat I have accomplished at least the principal object of my inventionand it will also be apparent to those skilled in the art that theembodiment herein described may be variously changed and modified,without departing from the spirit of the invention, and that theinvention is capable of uses and has advantages not herein specificallydescribed; hence it will be appreciated that the herein disclosedembodiment is illustrative only, and that my invention is not limitedthereto.

I claim:

1. A parallel clamp, comprising a pair of jaws in overlying relation andhaving paired aligned openings adjacent each end and intermediate saidends, one opening in each pair being threaded, a pair of hand screwsconnected between said jaws and providing for parallel adjustment ofsaid jaws toward and away from each other, one screw being threadedthrough the threaded one of the intermediate pair of openings and havingits end seating in the unthreaded one of such openings, and the otherscrew being threaded through the threaded one of one end pair ofopenings and having its end seating in the unthreaded one of suchopenings, whereby the jaw portions at the other pair of end openings areoperable to clamp a workpiece t herebetween, said hand screw at said oneend pair of openings being removable therefrom and similarly engagedwith said other pair of end openings, whereby the jaw portions at saidone pair of openings may now be utilized to clamp a workpiecetherebetween.

2. The construction according to claim 1 wherein the jaw portions ofeach jaw at the end openings are in stepped relation.

3. The construction according to claim 1 wherein a screw is threadedthrough the threaded one of the pair of end openings which are free of ahand screw so that said parallel clamp is adapted to C-clamp purposes.

4. The construction according to claim 1 wherein a plug is seated in theunthreaded one of the pair of end openings which are free of a handscrew so that said parallel clamp is adapted for C-clamp purposes.

570,952 12/1957 Italy. 252,838 1/1948 Switzerland.

ROBERT C. RIORDON, Primary Eqca miner,

SUSKO, Examiner,

1. A PARALLEL CLAMP, COMPRISING A PAIR OF JAWS IN OVERLYING RELATION ANDHAVING PAIRED ALIGNED OPENINGS ADJACENT EACH END AND INTERMEDIATE SAIDENDS, ONE OPENING IN EACH PAIR BEING THREADED, A PAIR OF HAND SCREWSCONNECTED BETWEEN SAID JAWS AND PROVIDING FOR PARALLEL ADJUSTMENT OFSAID JAWS TOWARD AND AWAY FROM EACH OTHER, ONE SCREW BEING THREADEDTHROUGH THE THREADED ONE OF THE INTERMEDIATE PAIR OF OPENINGS AND HAVINGITS END SEATING IN THE UNTHREADED ONE OF SUCH OPENINGS, AND THE OTHERSCREW BEING THREADED THROUGH THE THREADED ONE OF ONE END PAIR OFOPENINGS AND HAVING ITS END SEATING IN THE UNTHREADED ONE OF SUCHOPENINGS, WHEREBY THE JAW PORTIONS AT THE OTHER PAIR OF END OPENINGS AREOPERABLE TO CLAMP A WORKPIECE THEREBETWEEN, SAID HAND SCREW AT SAID ONEEND PAIR OF OPENINGS BEING REMOVABLE THEREFROM AND SIMILARLY ENGATEDWITH SAID OTHER PAIR OF END OPENINGS, WHEREBY THE JAW PORTIONS AT SAIDONE PAIR OF OPENINGS MAY NOW THE UTILIZED TO CLAMP A WORKPIECETHEREBETWEEN.